Syrian resistance reports massacre of 220 civilians

About 220 Syrians, mostly
civilians, were killed in a village in the rebellious Hama region when it was
bombarded by helicopter gunships and tanks then stormed by militiamen who
slaughtered some families, opposition sources said on Friday.UN special envoy
Kofi Annan said he was "shocked and appalled" by news of
"intense fighting, significant casualties, and the confirmed use of heavy
weaponry such as artillery, tanks and helicopters" in the village of
Tremseh.If scores of civilians were
killed, this could be the worst atrocity in 16 months of fighting between
rebels and the forces of President Bashar al-Assad.

World powers are deadlocked
over how to halt the bloodshed, with Russia and China opposed to Western and
Arab calls for Assad to step down immediately.

Syrian state television said
there had been fighting in Tremseh and accused "armed terrorist
groups" of committing a massacre there, but gave no death toll. It said three
soldiers had been killed. Armed Assad loyalists known as Shabbiha have been
accused repeatedly of cold-blooded indiscriminate killings carried out on the
coattails of army offensives into rebel-held districts.